Week 15- westbury

This class was a completely new experience. I am not a very visual person at all. I really am more of a reading and writing person, therefore this class was very difficult for me. I learned so much in regards to the Adobe Creative Suite. I can definitely say that I would have never been exposed to these various programs if I had not taken this Graphics class. I enjoyed the magazine project the most. It allowed me to put all my skill set into one program in regards to InDesign. Overall I learned so much from start to finish and no matter how painful it was during the process the educational reward made it worth it in the long run. I received what I expected and a lot more. Overall I am satisfied with all the knowledge I gained from this class.

Week 15 | Walsh

This class was a great experience for me. I've never been artistically talented at all, but this class gave me an opportunity to create work that was somewhat visually appealing. It was also a nice variation for me personally. As a history major I have always found myself reading and writing papers, but this was a nice break from that. I was able to be creative while learning very useful programs along the way. The class was very informative and the teaching was great. Thanks for a great semester!

Week 15: Spivack

I have always wanted to learn the Adobe Programs and I knew that I would FINALLY get the chance this semester. I absolutely loved the planning and sketching that was involved in coming up with ideas; it allowed you to be super creative in your design. I am definitely not an artist, but I found graphic arts to be more of my niche. I learned so much in this class but the one thing that stood out to me would be now important nitpicking details of a graphic piece. I find myself reading brochures and reading magazine and criticizing the graphics. Another crucial lesson that I learned is that simple=good; in this fast paced world, people have no time to sort through clutter to find pertinent information. I feel that I have improved a great deal, and my friends and family agree. I will most definitely put the skills that I learned in this class to good use when I begin to work in the advertising field.

Week 15: Class evaluation

I did not really know what to expect from this class. I never really thought I was creative or able to create creative things. However, after taking this class, I learned that everyone is creative. The key to graphic design is to really sketch out and plan things. This class has taught me that a good design doesn't have to be packed with information. A good design can be as simple as a bone, or thought bubble in my case. Anytime a student asks me how this class is, I automatically tell them that they will never look at design and type the same way. Every time I look at a magazine, I think about how well or how badly it is designed. I also look for themes and continuity. Every time I see any type or font, I try to see if I can recognize it. Prior to this class, I thought all types look the same. Now I notice the tiny little quirks in every letter and stroke. This class definitely helped me get my two internships for the summer.

Week 15: Class Evaluation

I'm not the graphics type and visual projects are not my strong point. However, I am very glad I took this class. I learned a lot about the Adobe programs that I normally would not have. I know that these skills on these programs will definitely become useful as I get internships and jobs. I also am very glad that I know many visual techniques, such as gestalt principles, grids, hierarchy, etc. This class helped me learn a lot of that and I produced some projects I definitely would not have before this class started.

week 15| Del Castillo

I did not expect to get such a hands on experience with software when I signed up for the class. I thought I would get design theory, not actual practice. I was glad i got to learn how to use the software and to play around with it. I thought the projects were very good and they got me to think and be more creative than I normally am. I was pleased at how much I progressed over the course of the semester. I am also glad we learned about the practical applications of the skills we learned in the class.

week 15- westbury

The non-profit event I chose is the Annual ProjectFeedME Basketball tournament that takes place at Syracuse University every Novemebr. This event is a collaboration with Phi Beta Sigma, a historic African American Fraternity. The tournament is designed to raise money to feed impoverished inner city families in the New York City area during the Thanksgiving holiday.
For my website I wanted to have the central focus around a basketball. I implemented this idea by finding a Google image of a basketball. Then putting half the ball at the top of my screen, letting it gradually fade to white. With this structure it provided both an image of a basketball as well as effectively representing the tournament. I used brown for my navigation bar which complemented the basketball and used a peach color for my roll over. For the banned I wanted a simple white background with black lettering. I kept this simple structure for each slide.

Blackstone | Final Week

When I first signed up for this class, I expected to have my fair share of trouble. Before this class, I had very little knowledge of Macs and no knowledge whatsoever on how to use the CS4 package. I definitely didn't enjoy spending countless hours in the Newhouse computer labs every other weekend but, when I finished each project, I had a sense of accomplishment. I really enjoyed how when I finished a project, I had something tangible that I could hold and show to people. I especially enjoyed the resume project and the magazine project because I liked having a cool looking resume and since I'm a magazine major, I liked designing my own magazine and being able to write a little bit in the sidebar. Overall, while this class took a lot of time and was quite frustrating at times, I definitely took a lot away from it.

Week 14 \ Web Project

Week 14: Interface Design Posting

I must admit that I had some trouble picking an event for this assignment. I did consider the event that I did my poster project on but the information on it was not easily available and it was a very localized event so I thought I would go in another direction. However, none of my other ideas seemed to pan out. Luckily, I found an online brochure of my event, which made this project much more doable.

Once I chose my event, my design ideas became clearer. Having been to this event for ten years or so, I knew the event inside and out. I knew that the audience was pretty much solely local residents from all different backgrounds. Therefore, I wanted to make a simple, comprehensible website for potential viewers. I also wanted to make it informational, since the event is highly advertised in the area by name, but not much by content.

For this reason, I chose to use the simple pink (breast cancer) and blue (prostate cancer) colors, which I took from the ribbons in the site’s header as well as simple black and white text because they are simple yet get the point across.

The pink color that I used was a pantone with an R: 233, G: 101 B: 180. I used this color as a background throughout the site and in various locations as well. This color is the symbol of breast cancer, one of the causes of the walk. The blue color that I used throughout is a pantone that I also pulled from the ribbon with an R: 72 G: 145 B: 86. I used this color as a background for certain text (especially behind white text).

For most of my text I used Helvetica. Mostly, it was size 18 pt or 21 pt and black and a majority of my body text. For my headers, I used Gill Sans sized 30 in white in front of the blue background in order to make it stand out. For the nav bar, I used Helvetica size 24 pt in the same blue color with pink mouseovers. For the main header, I used Berlin LT Std Bold Italic size 55 pt.

Spivack Website Week 14

Typefaces:
Brioso Pro, Arial Black, Helvetica
For the event name I used the font Brioso Pro. I felt that the font was fun, but definitely still very readable. This serif font helped me to convey the fun but professional feeling of the event. For the navigation bar I used the font Arial Black. As a bold sans serif font, it stands out but remains easy to read. For the body of the website I used Helvetica. The movie we watched in class, for one, completely convinced me that Helvetica was one of the most widely used easily read fonts ever created. I felt that the level of readability of the typeface was what I wanted in my website. There are also many variations to choose from.
Besides the Brioso Pro, the fonts that I used were pretty basic. The reason behind that is because I feel that websites, due to readability and compatibility issues use more mainstream fonts. I understand that we were allowed to branch out, but I wanted the website to seem as legitimate as possible.

Visuals:
For the navigation bar, I used erasers as tabs, crumpled paper as the background and the pencil as a logo. I used these school supplies to make the website fun and also relevant. I found pictures from both the Youth Day BBQ current website and Google throughout the design.

Walsh | Project 5

Design Strategy:

After looking at the current web page for the New York State Blues Festival, I decided to make the web page appear less formal and a little more festive. The original page seemed fairly straight-edged and corporate. I decided to concentrate a bit more on the music and the musicians.

Although I aimed and desired focus a lot on the music, there were not many pictures available from past events. I managed to find pictures of a few of the scheduled performers, but there were not many visuals that had to do specifically with the New York State Blues Festival. As a result I ended up using several of the logos for the corporate sponsors of the event to bring in some relevant visuals.

I have found this semester that I am not very capable, accurate, or productive when I sit down and draw out sketches. I cannot get a good idea of what I really want to do with my design until I sit down at the computer and start playing with colors, images, and type. As a result, I due not have an extensive selection of sketches to turn in. This meant longer hours in the lab but I have accepted that as a necessary means for me to produce my best work.

Typography:

For the event name in the headline of the web page I decided to use Auriol Limited Standard Roman. This typeface came across as both relevant the idea of a festival and blues.

For the rest of the web design I used Frutiger Limited Standard Light, and varied between bold and non-bold. After using Frutiger in the captions for my magazine design I decided I really like it as a typeface choice. It is very readable, smooth, and fulfills the need for a san serif in web design.

Color Information:

The colors in my web design are RGB. For the blue areas of the background and logo, information is R 36, G 150, and B 212. For the black areas the information is R 3, G 3, and B 5. For the dark blue font used for hyperlinked type, the information is R 0, G 0, B 255.

Buchholz | Week Fourteen

Design Strategy: When coming up with the design for my interface, I knew I wanted it to be very simple and clear. I did not want it to be cluttered with photos or information; I just wanted it to be very “to the point.” I did not want it to be fancy, as it has to appeal to a college-aged audience. I used color and photos to make it more interesting and did not have a lot of text, as college students do not necessarily have time to sit and read through a website.

Choice of Typefaces: I chose to use ITC Fenice Std for the header because I thought it was a fun serif font that was very readable. I used Tekton Pro in different weights and sizes for the links and the body text. This font is a sans-serif font, which is easy to read and stands out. It does not clutter the design and contrasts the text in ITC Fenice Std.

Visuals: I used images from past Mr. Golden Anchor events and framed them in a vintage Polaroid frame. I also used a large “golden” anchor in the background, which I traced and formatted in Illustrator. I thought having a large anchor was appropriate to go along with the title of the event. I used a deep blue background ( Pantone 288 U) to compliment the gold anchor and white writing to contrast the background color.

Website: Stop Paying for Slavery Tour

Design & Story Strategy:

I decided to do my website project on the same not-for-profit organization as my poster project, the Not for Sale Campaign. This is a different event from my poster project. This event is the “Stop Paying For Slavery Tour 2010.” It is a tour by the Not for Sale Campaign where they travel to different schools, corporations and etc., to educate consumers and people about the true face value of our dollars, human trafficking, and the modern-day slave trade. The organization already has an incredible website dedicated to this event, but I tried my best to make it different.

I found the event’s logo and decided to make that my header. On every link, there is a different picture (all found on their website) on the top left corner. I put this visually beautiful and symbolic picture on the “welcome” page because I felt it gave the first page the “WOW” factor.

On the side of every main container, there is a human trafficking statistic. So every time someone refreshed the link or went to a different link, there is be a different statistic.

I only have one main container because I didn’t want the website to look crowded. The main container and the separate links all provided enough information for the event.

Every active link is written in white, underlined and has bullets/dots on both sides. To show visual hierarchy within the text box, I either made them bold, a different color, or used bullets.

Choice of Typeface:

I used the fonts Cracked and Helvetica. I used Cracked because it symbolizes the pain that children and people are still going through today. It also looks like an old, torn down font –which I think symbolizes the historically horrible issue of modern day slavery.

I used Helvetica because it’s simple to read. It also allowed me to have a variety of choices when trying to create visual hierarchy.

Annie Leibovitz

I never had an interest in photography, but hearing Annie Leibovitz speak was really intriguing and inspiring. I’ve never seen the Hendricks Chapel that crowded either. She discussed her accomplishments and the obstacles she’s overcome as a photographer. It was inspiring to learn about her confidence, creativity, and passion. I was floored at her ability to turn simple things into art. She is able to give any picture a story and a life –a very rare skill. I was also incredibly impressed at her diverse portfolio. Her top magazine covers illustrate her eye for art and beauty. Through Leibovitz, I learned that pictures really are worth a thousand words. Prior to the event, I didn’t know who exactly Annie Leibovitz was. But I feel lucky to have gotten the chance to hear and see her speak.

Annie Leibovitz

I must admit that photography is not my greatest interest so I was skeptical of whether I would enjoy Annie Leibovitz's presentation in Hendricks Chapel on April 29. However, I was completely wrong. Before going to the event I did some research on Leibovitz. I was astounded to hear of her body of work, which was incredible. I then went to the event and her introducer informed the crowd (which more than filled the spacious seating of Hendricks) that she holds the distinction of having the two top covers in the last 40 years, as voted upon by magazine editors. Leibovitz then showed the crowd her some of her pictures while reading excerpts from her autobiography. I was shocked by how amazing she could look mundane scenes, like a hotel room, look amazing and something that someone can stare at in amazement. I was also stunned by her pictures of the living quarters of famous citizens, such as Emily Dickinson, Sigmund Freud, and Georgia O'Keefe. I really learned how photography can be beautiful in many different ways and am very glad I decided to go to this once-in-a-lifetime event.

annie leibovitz

When Annie Leibovitz came to talk to Syracuse she discussed her new book At Work. The book discusses how her life while working in photography. She talked about how her photos have more meaning when the person in them has passed away. I found that statement very interesting and also very true. When someone dies their memories can partly stay alive through their pictures.

The one point that I found most important was when Annie talked to her niece at the end. She talked about how this is a turning point for people in the magazine, photography, and other fields like that. From 50 years ago until now photography and the industry have already changed and now and in the future there are only more ways it can change for the better. Now is our time to start changing things.

Week 14 | Blackstone

Sam Blackstone
Web Design Rationale

Event Choice
For this project, I chose to continue with the same theme that I focused on for my poster project. Although I ended up moving away from the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic because its website was already extensive, I found a local golf tournament that was affiliated with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I went to their website and saw that while it was clean and easy to use, it was lacking any creative flair. By adding pictures, and more information, I thought my design was much better.
Typeface and Color
For my navigation bar I used Helvetica Regular because of its clarity and because you recommended that we employ san serif fonts. For the body font I chose ITC Avant Garde Gothic Std Medium. I really liked how strong yet easy to read this font was. I had my body font use the same color as the logo and navigation bars to give it some consistency. I used a green background for all my links and gave it a little shading effect, with the green becoming darker as the eye flowed down the page. I thought this gave a little dimensionality to the site. The color was R: 138 G: 173 B: 89. My navigation bar and my privacy policy bar at the bottom were the same color R: 25 G: 45 B: 116 and I used the gradient tool to once again add a little dimensionality and keep it from looking 2D. Besides the basic Home, About Us, and Contact Us, I used Register, Location, and Awards because I had the most information for those categories and because I thought that this information was definitely important for someone who was interested in the tournament.
Pictures
Most of the pictures I used I took with my camera. I did this because I knew what kind of pictures I was looking for and I knew the pictures would be high quality. The mouse over is a picture of a golf club that I traced in Photoshop then placed into the design. I thought this was creative and helped reinforce the golf theme. The reason my project is six separate documents instead of one is because when I asked one of the TA’s, they told me to do it like this. I just took off the aspects I didn’t want and saved it as another document. Overall, I was happy with how it came out.

Week 13 Spivack

The visual hierarchy on this website is very evident. The bigger pictures are the more important ones. 20% off REALLY stands out because of its size, and background color. The "Deal of the Day" is another portion of the site that stands out with the use of color and font sizes. The use of pictures and picture sizes also create a visual hierarchy. There are a lot of links on the home page that take you directly to relevant portions of the site. The navigation bar is easily read and found on the page.

Week 13- Westbury

Espn. com represents an example good hierarchy. When looking at the web site there is so much to look at. There is a lot of information presented on the initial home page. ESPN however does and excellent job pointing out the major headlines of the moment on the right hand side of the page. If a viewer was looking for the top stories, they are easily directed to the headlines. Also the biggest pictures represents the biggest story of that day. Overall ESPn is a website that represents a website with good clean use of hierarchy.

Week 13: Hierarchy

The website for the Make-A-Wish Foundation has a very well-run website with great hierarchy. The tabs are set about three-quarters towards the top of the page that is directly under the large organizational logo, making it near impossible to miss. Also, other popular links, such as wish stories, ways to donate, and news and events are very easy to spot on the screen because of the hierarchy in which the website was designed. A job well done by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Stephen Wilkes

Hearing Stephen Wilkes speak was a great experience for me. I really appreciate beautiful photography but never took the time to fully understand the thought, time and care that the photographer puts into one photograph. I have a very limited knowledge of photography, in my mind a professional photographer only works within the limits of a studio and models. Wilkes, as a photojournalist expanded my idea of how photographers see the world, literally the whole world. Wilkes has traveled all over the world and has returned with an array of stunning photographs of what people might consider boring or useless. However, Wilkes saw each of his experiences as an opportunity given to him to capture a great, unique moment in time. His love of history and the ability to bring history to life through photographs and the impact one photo can have impressed me. Though his pictures of subjects such as the abandoned medical ward on Ellis Island, or his work in China were breathtaking it was his passion, commitment and personal philosophies that kept me interested. He repetitively focused on the importance of committing time to your craft saying "You need 10,000 hours to become a master at something." He also spoke of the importance of patience. Even when he thinks he has the perfect shot he "always likes to stay a little bit longer to wait and see what's coming". Finally, Wilkes emphasized the importance of spontaneity. He talked about how you can plan and "do your homework" but "your dealt a card and you have to be ready with what's dealt to you, you have to live in the moment."

Week Thirteen | Odiamar

The StyleCaster website is an example of good visual hierarchy. The page is very welcoming with a lot of white space and the name of the page very clearly defined at the top of the page. Also, the page opens with a large welcoming visual to contrast with all the type information. All of the menu bars are very organized along the top and left with the most read stories along the right and the search bar in the right corner. This website is very effective visually.

Week 13 | Walsh

I found that cuteoverload.com has good visual hierarchy. They place the more important visuals along with the articles in a dominant position in the middle of the page. They list the links down the left side of the page and have advertisements on the right. The page title is at the top, also in a dominant position. Everything is well organized and clearly placed.

Buchholz | Week Thirteen

I think that youtube.com does a very poor job with using visual hierarchy. The website is very scattered and it is quite hard to navigate to around the side. When scrolling up and down, it is hard to determine the information and search around for the type of clip you are looking for. I think that by having clearly displayed categories and by using different type and colors, the site would be much easier to navigate around.